Friday, January 4, 2013

Into the Jungle - Author Bell Part 4


Into the Jungle - Bell

Official Journal: File #---3. Part 4

   Guns drawn, senses alert, and blood curdling with adrenaline. We're face to face with a possible threat that has yet to speak a word. I have my revolver pointed at one of her black buttons that lies over her heart, and Ivan is having no problem showing off his weapon either. In fact, he's not even pointing the muzzle at her. He's menacing enough without the gun. However, the woman didn't seemed threatened at all. She examined both of us and visually made notes. Then she smirked and moved away from the front door, pulling out a notebook and writing something down. "Ma'm," Ivan inquired politely, but with a bit of a growl. "I need you to tell us who you are and why you're here, or you're going to have some trouble. "First off" she spoke, turning around to look at us. "I'm not here to hurt you, so you can holster your weapons for a real threat."
   "I want a name and why you're here first." Ivan seemed pretty firm, yet he was now relaxed against the wall with arms crossed and legs locked, gun still in hand.
   "Fine. Sionn Harrow. Detective from the DPD."
   "I want a badge." With that request, she pulled out a small wallet from one of her coat pockets and tossed it to Ivan. He opened it, investigated, and then tossed it back. "It's legitimate." We put our handguns away.
   "So, Mrs. Harrow, I-" Ivan was cut off.
   "I'm not married Mr. Aquila."
   "Oh, sorry ma'm. Wait, how did you know my name?"
   "I've been assigned to your team by the Deinsport Council Mr. Bell. I'm going to be sticking around and helping you with any navigation, crime files-"
   "Or are you just keeping tabs to make sure we're not a bunch of crazies. Am I right, Miss, Harrow?" Ivan had a hiss spurting from his speech. He's definitely annoyed. Harrow also sighed at his question.
   "Yes, they also want me to watch over your company to make sure the money they endowed you is being used correctly." I chuckled a bit at this remark. This wasn't the first time I had heard this.
   "Sionn, I can assure you that we're not frauds. In fact, we're on our way to see if we can observe some paranormal activity, but I'm wondering why we should even let you follow us."
   "Yes," Ivan stood and walked towards her. "please tell us that you're some use besides slowing us down."
   "Well, Mr. Aquila," she met Ivan and placed a hand on his arm. "I can assure you, I have keen senses, a quick hand, and a quick draw too." Ivan twitched and looked down towards his chest. I was amazed to see that Sionn had actually swiped Ivan's 1911 pistol and shoved it into his chest stock first.
   "Well" Ivan seemed to have lost his annoyed tone, but he kept his composure. "I can say that a quick drawn and some knowledge wouldn't be a bad thing to have around."
   I added, "I agree, but you have to remember that you're going to be the novice if you join us. This is a lot different from normal detective work."
   "Understood." She let go of Ivan's pistol, flicked her brown hair away from her eyes, and quietly turned to the soda machine. She inserted a dollar, and the machine immediately ate the money and popped out a drink of her choosing. "I'll be in the car, and I'll follow you two when you're ready." She left the building, and I shot a stare at Ivan who was, surprisingly, stunned.
   Moving north and approaching 11 at night, we drove up to North Deinsport Park to where Justin had tipped us off to his excavation site. On the way, Ivan was exceptionally quiet. He doesn't like being forced to make changes, he doesn't like being outsmarted, and he doesn't like looking like a fool. Sionn had broken these three walls with him, and he wasn't taking it well. I tried turning on the radio to break the silence, but nothing suited to my taste. We arrived a the park, which was deserted for the night, and drove to the  far west side where the walking trails and excavation site was located. We all approached the trail with the mist slowly turning dissipating. With Sionn, we started walking the smallest loop around the site.
   "What are we trying to do here? Is walking trails part of your exercise routine or your plan?"
   We both turned and gave her a stern look. I gave the first word. "If you must know everything, we are walking a trail that surrounds an excavation site that has historical significance to Deinsport. We thought that coming here may give us a clue of spirits or their origins." She let out an "Ah" as she understood the logic now, and we continued walking. She occasionally asked about how we go about business, but she kept to herself after we had told her to be quiet several times. The trails had some small historical buildings that were built to show the original architecture within Deinsport, so it was a perfect place for spirits of old to hang around.
   We kept walking slowly, waiting for any sound or sign of life. We must have walked the loop at least four times before we had contact. Ivan was the first to notice, and he stopped and stood still, head down.
   "Ivan" Sionn spoke out of her place. "what are you-"
   "Sh." I hushed her quickly, and she obeyed. I walked over to Ivan and stood still. I closed my eyes to listen. Sure enough, there was contact.
   "Do you hear them?" he whispered.
   "Yes."
   Sionn walked over and stood trying to listen, but by the disgruntled look on her face, she wasn't getting and readings.
   "Here." Ivan whispered. He guided her to where he was standing. "Close your eyes, listen intently for anything. Don't expect a sound. Feel the sound."  She closed her eyes, somewhat annoyed that she did not hear anything. But then here eyes slowly opened.
   "Feet. I heard running."
   "I've got that too, but I'm getting multiple readings." I said as I gave Ivan a nod.  "Ivan I think we have Memoirs."
   "Agreed." He nodded his head and revealed his pocketbook to take notes.
   "I'm sorry, Memoirs?" Sionn had no idea what we meant, and for good reason.
   "It's a term our team uses. Memoirs are like the memories of the deceased that thrive in an area after that person has passed."
   Ivan closed his pocketbook. "It's almost as if the memories of an individual survived death, and decided to live in a place where that person treasured that memory."
   "Ivan, I've got kids too." Ivan jotted it down.
   Sionn stood for a second, trying to make out what she was hearing. "Do you hear some yelling? I didn't think this area had military conflict involved."
   "It didn't. You're hearing bargaining. Markets." I looked at Ivan again.
   "I'm getting that too." He reached for his pocketbook again to take more notes.
   Sionn searched through the mystic sound again. "Are those children? Playing?"
   Ivan looked up. "Yes, they are. Children's Memoirs are pretty frequent wherever you search for them." 
   "Wait, you mean dead children's memories?" Sionn had a look of concern, but not horror that most people tend to get.
   "Well, maybe. We don't know, but it could be someone who enjoyed watching kids play, or a father who's son would play here. There are many possibilities." Sionn seemed pleased with my answer. "You're actually doing really well. Not many people can read these sounds on their first go."
   "Thanks." She spared me a smile, but I felt a cold vibe coming from Ivan, though he still kept his head in his notebook.
   "Jon, what's the moon?" Ivan started the stat tracking in the notebook, where we record time, date, and any other possibilities that may affect phenomena.
   "I actually don't know. Sionn?"
   She opened her eyes for a moment. "It's a waxing crescent tonight."
   "That's unusual..." Ivan remarked. He wrote some extra notes down and raised his head from his notebook. "Let's stick around for a few minutes. We might hear some more."
   We all listened for a few long minutes, and the time spent was pleasurable. Listening to the happy memories of those past is a rather satisfying experience. That changed for the worse.
   Ivan was busy taking notes when he stopped abruptly. I looked at him with wide eyes, but he kept his head down.
   "What? What's wrong? Bell? Jonathan? Iv-"
   "Sh." Another abrupt hush from Ivan. "This is bad." Sionn stood still, not knowing what was happening.
   "Ivan?" I asked.
   "Yes?"
   "That screeching," Sionn's eyes now revealed some interest and fear. Screeching.
   "Is that coming from nearby, or are we dealing with something bigger?" He tapped his pencil on the pad for a few moments.
   "It's coming from the trail. I believe it's a Departed. Sionn, we may have work for you. follow us."
   The party started walking the trails. I started shivering from the screeching  It's an awful thing to listen to. Sionn kept listening until she heard it. She kept composure, but she wasn't sure what to expect. The screeching puts a whole new perspective on the situation. It's disturbing and unnerving  It doesn't seem to affect Ivan much, but it has stalled people with fear who are not used to hearing the sound. While walking along the path, a sudden, glass shattering screech screamed in everyone's ears. Sionn and I flinched a little bit. Ivan kept walking. He stopped in the middle of the path and stood still. 
   "What is he doing?" Sionn asked.
   "He needs to put the Departed to rest." Ivan knelt down in the middle of the path, and we stood a good distance away. His silence seemed to oppose the erratic screeching that deafened us. After a few seconds, the screeching seemed to stop. A cold wind blew through the trees, and Ivan stood. "Jonathan, give the ambulance a ring." I did as he asked. Basic routine. Sionn was curious and walked to Ivan. She looked down and saw a body of a woman face down. Her slow drain of blood seemed to mix with the puddling rain around her. I finished my call and walked over. "Well, I believe we have our first case."

No comments:

Post a Comment